Open Detention Facilities to Stop Torture

By: Human Rights Watch   Source: Human Rights Watch May 11, 2004 3 Comments

Category: Americas, World Affairs Topics: Human Rights Views: 3596
3596

"Torture flourishes in the dark. If the Bush administration really wants to put a stop to torture in U.S. detention facilities, it has to open them up to outside scrutiny."

Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch

The U.S. government should allow human rights organizations to monitor detention facilities in Iraq and elsewhere in order to bring a stop to the mistreatment of prisoners, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld today. 

"Torture flourishes in the dark," said Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch. "If the Bush administration really wants to put a stop to torture in U.S. detention facilities, it has to open them up to outside scrutiny." 

Human Rights Watch called on the U.S. government to reveal all places of detention where security or terrorist suspects are being held, and to permit independent, impartial and public investigations of all facilities where the U.S. military and intelligence community are holding detainees. 

Human Rights Watch requested access for its investigators to all U.S. detention facilities, wherever security or terrorist suspects are being held, on whatever grounds. Human Rights Watch has repeatedly sought to visit U.S. military detention facilities - including in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay - without success. 

"The United States has lost the ability to ensure that its own investigations will be considered impartial and independent," Roth said. "Independent monitoring organizations report their findings publicly, and that's very important in this climate." 

Human Rights Watch also called on Secretary Rumsfeld to ban all "stress and duress" interrogation techniques in all U.S. detention facilities anywhere in the world. "Stress and duress" techniques, such as extended sleep and sensory deprivation, forced standing, binding detainees in painful positions, and holding detainees naked, are explicitly designed to inflict pain and humiliation. 

"By ratcheting up the detainee's pain and discomfort, 'stress and duress' techniques almost invariably lead to far more serious mistreatment," said Roth. "Their use clearly contributed to an environment in which some U.S. military personnel believed even more shocking abuse would be tolerated." 

Source: Human Rights Watch

  Category: Americas, World Affairs
  Topics: Human Rights
Views: 3596

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Older Comments:
TRANSIENT FROM USA said:
yes the us government shoul allow human rights organizations to monitor the detention facilities in iraq, after all they would insist if the prisoners were american, Bush said that what happen was abhorrent, then it stand to reason that he must do whatever it takes to insure the safety of the prisoners....
2004-05-12
YAHYA BERGUM FROM USA said:
It would seem that the Gestapo was less than helpful in maintaining Germany's conquests. What advantage is there to studying history if the student embraces the biggest mistakes described in the lessons?
2004-05-11
AKBAR KHAN FROM CANADA said:
Excellent article... let's be very frank here and speak with a united voice, I for one demand access...I hope many of you would feel the same way after realizing that this is only one incident in which pictures were taken...imagine the thousands of other cases where there are no pictures...I can name one, Maher Arar of Canada, tortured in a Syrian Jail, and visited by US Customs at his jail, who were the one's who handed him over. Even though this man has been charged with nothing, he endured a year of torture...for what? I wonder when we will be allowed into Guantanamo Bay, or hear the stories of Afghanistani men and their stories of U.S. Soldier abuses.

These Mercenary soldiers running around in Iraq under private contracts by giant corporations have no right to be in Iraq - This is despicable, in the name of democracy? yeah right ask the thousands of soldiers who left the US Army to work for corporations as mercenaries so that they could make more money!!! Sure, soldiers are there to help Iraqi's...I can see that so clearly, I won't stand for this baseless, "but most of the soldiers are there for the well being of Iraq and Iraqi's" garbage argument. Get real ppl, that lie won't work anymore, the truth has got it's shoes on and now the liars are frying.


I DEMAND THAT THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT GIVE FULL ACCESS TO ALL DETAINEES AT GUANTANAMO BAY, IN AFGHANISTAN, IN IRAQ, AND IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY WHERE MUSLIMS ARE BEING HELD BY OTHER GOVERNMENTS AT THE REQUEST OF THE PENTAGON.

I DEMAND THAT THESE DETAINEES WHO ARE BEING HELD UNDER SO CALLED TERRORISM RELATED CHARGES, BE GIVEN ASSESSMENTS BY HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS, MUSLIM WELFARE GROUPS, AND THE RED CROSS, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, AND ANY OTHER GROUP THAT CAN ENSURE THE SAFETY AND WELL BEING OF THESE INVIDUALS.

The United States government is turning into the very enemy it so damningly wishes to defeat...
2004-05-11